1.

Discuss Thomas Schelling's statement that the business of

organized crime is extortion and those criminals who
provide goods and services are its victims. Give an
example to illustrate your answer.
Organized crime moves into an area and takes over all operations in that
area. In order for a criminal group to continue to operate in that area they
would have to deal with the OC syndicate and pay them some of the profit
from the operation or face possible reprisals. This is a good example of
Schellings statement. Another is illegal loan-sharking as if the person
borrowing the money does not pay it back on time with the allotted interest he
will be injured or possibly killed. So as you can see from Schellings point of
view that indeed the business of Organized crime is indeed extortion.

2. List the federal law enforcement agencies involved in the

fight against organized crime. Discuss each agency's
specific role.
Department of Justice (DOJ) - The DOJ is the most important part of the
Federal law enforcement structure as it is responsible not only for prosecution of
OC but the development and coordination of all of the programs regarding
Organized Crime.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) - The FBI is the actual investigative wing
of the DOJ. As far as the investigation of Organized Crime is concerned the FBI
has interstate authority and jurisdiction to continue investigations across state
boundaries and with cooperation of INTERPOL across international boundaries.
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) - The DEA is a single mission
department whose mission it is to control the transportation, sale, and use of
illegal drugs. This comes into play in Organized Crime as one of OCs main
forms of rapid money making enterprise id the sale of illegal drugs for
recreational use.
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) - The primary goal lf the INS is
to investigate, and prevent entry of illegal aliens into the U.S. This has ties to
Organized Crime as OC utilizes illegal aliens to strengthen their forces and as
workers in various illegal operations.
US Marshals These Law Enforcement officers serve writs of Forfeiture issued
by Federal Courts in RICO cases and serve as security to Federal Courts and
protect witnesses.
Department of Treasury - The Treasury Department is responsible for
collecting revenue due the Federal Government and is the umbrella department
for three sub-departments that are very important in the investigation of
Organized Crime.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) - One of the sub-divisions of the Treasury
Department seeks to investigate anyone involved in Income Tax Evasion and this
is very important in Organized Crime (as Al Capone found out). The IRS has its
own internal criminal investigation unit.
Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) - The BATF is another of the
sub-divisions of the Treasury Department and is responsible for enforcing all of
the Federal Governments regulations dealing with the transportation, sale, and
use of all Tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, and munitions. This is
extremely important in the fight against OC as these individuals can bring
Federal illegal weapons charges against the OC syndicate for the possession
and sale of illegal weapons and explosives.
Customs Service This is the third sub-division of the Treasury Department and
also very important in the fight against OC as this department is responsible for
all import and export of goods beyond the USs borders and is the essential
department in curtailing the smuggling efforts of OC syndicates.
Department of Transportation (DOT) This is the department that regulates all
forms of transportation of personnel and goods on commercial and international
levels. They work very closely with the Customs Service and the DOD (usually
Coast Guard) in the efforts of the Federal investigations against OC by providing
additional services against transportation of illegal goods and smuggling efforts.

Department of Labor This department is responsible for overseeing the use of

fair labor practices and that all of the Federal Governments labor regulations are
being enforced. This is essential in the investigation and prevention of Organized
Crime labor racketeering schemes.
Department of Defense (DOD) The DOD is the department whose
responsibility is the security of the entirety of the United States. Recently this has
involved the war on Drugs and the War on terrorism both of which have ties with
Organized Crime on one fashion or another.

3. Compare and contrast the structure, ideology, and criminal

activity of Asian organized crime and the American Mafia in
the United States, using specific examples.
Overall structurally both American Mafia and Asian Organized Crime groups are
essentially the same. The American Mafia has its Capo and the Yakuza has it
Oyabun and the rest of the structure is essentially the same. The primary
differentiation comes from the relative secrecy that the American Mafia utilizes in
its dealings and concerns where as Asian Organized Crime Groups are relatively
open in there dealings and businesses. The Asian Organized Crime groups
openly wear the symbologies of their affiliations in public an have made many
humanitarian efforts to increase their outlook with the public at large. American
Mafia would not ever do anything like damage relief or any other similar
humanitarian efforts.

4. Explain in detail the Continuing Criminal Enterprise (CCE)

statute. Compare and contrast CCE and RICO.
The Continuing Criminal Enterprise Statute, Title 21 United States Code
(U.S.C.) subsection 848, is the most important federal criminal statute in the
United States directed at illegal drug traffickers and their organizations. The
statute was enacted in 1970 as part of a comprehensive legislative policy aimed
at drug abuse prevention and control. It is the only statute in the federal drug
laws that contain a mandatory minimum sentencing provision of not less than 10
years and up to life imprisonment following conviction.
The continuing criminal enterprise statute also provides for rights enabling
the United States to seek forfeiture of the proceeds obtained by the defendant
from the criminal enterprise. As organizations succeeded to move their finances
out of the United States in an effort to launder those funds and or hide their
financial interest, or to invest the funds in assets out of the United States, the
necessity for prosecutors to identify assets in order to seek forfeiture, and the
cooperation of private institutions and the courts in other countries came to the
forefront to obtain evidence of violations of the laws of the United States.
The continuing criminal enterprise statute, 21 U.S.C. 848, was enacted as
part of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970. The
statute is aimed at any person who "occupies a position of organizer, a
supervisory position, or any other position of management" in a drug-producing
and drug-distributing enterprise. This legislation provides for one of the most

severe penalties of any federal criminal statute. Under the CDAPCA, convicted
violators must be sentenced to a mandatory minimum of 10 years imprisonment
with no possibility of parole. The court may impose a life sentence without parole
and fines totaling $ U.S. 2,000,000 for an individual or $5,000,000 if such is an
organization. On the second conviction of this statute the minimum sentence is
30 years. All profits and assets that have afforded the defendant a source of
influence over the illegal enterprise are subject to forfeiture (Carlson & Corcoran,
1983).

Subsection (b) defines cause for life imprisonment

Any person who engages in a continuing criminal enterprise shall be
imprisoned for life and fined in accordance with subsection (a) of this
section, if (1)
Such person is the principal administrator, organizer, or leader
of the enterprise or is one of several such principal
administrators, organizers, or leaders; and
(2)
(A)

the violation referred to in subsection (c)(1) of this section

involved at least 300 times the quantity of a substance
described in subsection 841(b)(1)(B) of this title, or
(B)
the enterprise, or any other enterprise in which the defendant
was the principal or one of several principal administrators,
organizers, or leaders, received $10 million dollars in gross
receipts during any twelve-month period of its existence for the
manufacture, importation, or distribution of a substance
described in section 841(b)(1)(B) of this title.
Under RICO, a person or group who commits any two of 35 crimes27 federal
crimes and 8 state crimeswithin a 10-year period and, in the opinion of the US
Attorney bringing the case, has committed those crimes with similar purpose or
results can be charged with racketeering. Those found guilty of racketeering can
be fined up to $25,000 and/or sentenced to 20 years in prison. In addition, the
racketeer must forfeit all ill-gotten gains and interest in any business gained
through a pattern of "racketeering activity." The act also contains a civil
component that allows plaintiffs to sue for triple damages.
When the U.S. Attorney decides to indict someone under RICO, he has the
option of seeking a pre-trial restraining order or injunction to prevent the transfer
of potentially forfeitable property, as well as require the defendant to put up a

performance bond. This provision is intended to force a defendant to plead guilty

before indictment.
There is also a provision for private parties to sue. A "person damaged in his
business or property" can sue one or more "racketeers." There must also be an
"enterprise." The defendant(s) are not the enterprise, in other words, the
defendant(s) and the enterprise are not one and the same. There must be one of
four specified relationships between the defendant(s) and the enterprise. This
lawsuit, like all Federal civil lawsuits, can take place in either Federal or State
court.

Racketeering activity means:

Any act or threat involving gambling, murder, kidnapping, arson, robbery,

bribery, extortion, dealing in obscene matter, or dealing in a controlled
substance or listed chemical (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled
Substances Act), which is chargeable under State law and punishable by
imprisonment for more than one year;

Any act which is indictable under a wide variety of specific provisions of title
18 of the United States Code relating to bribery, counterfeiting, theft,
embezzlement, fraud, obscene matter, obstruction of justice, slavery,
racketeering, gambling, money laundering, commission of murder-for-hire,
etc.

Any act which is indictable under title 29, United States Code, section 186
(dealing with restrictions on payments and loans to labor organizations) or
section 501 (c) (relating to embezzlement from union funds),

Any offense involving fraud connected with a case under title 11 (except a
case under section 157 of this title), fraud in the sale of securities, or the
felonious manufacture, importation, receiving, concealment, buying, selling,
or otherwise dealing in a controlled substance or listed chemical (as defined in
section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act), punishable under any law of
the United States,

Any act which is indictable under the Currency and Foreign Transactions
Reporting Act,

Any act which is indictable under the Immigration and Nationality Act,
section 274 (relating to bringing in and harboring certain aliens), section 277
(relating to aiding or assisting certain aliens to enter the United States), or
section 278 (relating to importation of alien for immoral purpose) if the act
indictable under such section of such Act was committed for the purpose of
financial gain, or

Any act that is indictable under any provision listed in section 2332b (g)(5)
(B);

Pattern of racketeering activity requires at least two acts of racketeering

activity, one of which occurred after the effective date of this chapter and the last
of which occurred within ten years (excluding any period of imprisonment) after
the commission of a prior act of racketeering activity; The Supreme Court has

instructed federal courts to follow the continuity plus relationship test in order to
determine whether the facts of a specific case give rise to an established pattern.
Predicate acts are related if they "have the same or similar purposes, results,
participants, victims, or methods of commission, or otherwise are interrelated by
distinguishing characteristics and are not isolated events." H.J. Inc. v.
Northwestern Bell Telephone Co. Continuity is both a closed and open ended
concept, referring to either a closed period of conduct, or to past conduct that by
its nature projects into the future with a threat of repetition.
While the Continuing Criminal Enterprise Statute is specifically aimed at
illegal drug operations RICO is aimed at general racketeering practices. Any
operation under investigation under the auspices of the CCE very well could
and in my opinion should be also held under the auspices of the RICO statutes
as well insuring that an applicable sentencing is applied to the organization
upon successful prosecution. RICO has no provisions for furthering the
sentencing parameters due to additional prosecution for continued activity like
the CCE stature does.